Fun Facts About Basketball You Never Knew

It's very presumptuous to say to someone, "Hey, here's some really fun facts that you never knew about basketball." Basketball aficionados all over the world would beg to differ, no matter what kind of obscure information we come up with. So, let's simply say that we are going to talk about some interesting or fun facts where basketball is concerned, and you may or may not be familiar with them.

Ready to go? First, grab that baseball style cap with your favorite basketball team logo on it…

It's All about the Ball

Believe it or not, peach baskets and a soccer ball were the first things used to play what has become known as a basketball game. Every time the player made a basket, guess who would go retrieve that ball… the referees! How many of us would like to see that nowadays? Finally introduced to the game in 1900, were the string baskets we’ve become so familiar with. To prevent spectators from blocking a shot, backboards were later attached.

The Invention of Basketball

The founder of basketball is credited as James Naismith, back in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891. He founded the basketball program at the University of Kansas, wrote the original basketball rulebook, and was a physical education teacher. Big surprise!

By the way, professed by Mr. Naismith was a game with five minutes of rest between two 15-minute halves.

How Many Players on a Side?

Because he wanted to include whoever felt compelled to play the game, it was never truly specified how many players could be on each side by Naismith. For the very first game, apparently, about 18 people showed up which equated to nine per side. That stuck for a while. Today, 12 players are on a team and, at any given time, five are on the court.

No Dribbling!

Wait… What? It's true. Time was, that from wherever a player caught the ball, that's where he threw it from. You couldn't personally advance the ball, per se. Finally, however, in 1897, at Yale, the first team dribbled the ball.

A Physical Game?

Today, you will see players taking all sorts of physical hits out on the court, and frequently winning Academy Awards for the acting job that follows. Back in the day, however, you were not allowed to trip, push, hold, shoulder, or otherwise strike your opponent. Hard to imagine, isn't it? The thing is, until 1910, those weren't actually considered fouls.

In 1946, you could commit five fouls before you would be disqualified. The following year, it was changed to six. (In 1910, it was four.)

Additionally, just before the 1967 to 1968 season, the slam dunk was banned. We didn't see it again, legally, until the season that consisted of 1976 to 1977.

For All You Michael Jordan Fans…

Michael Jordan became relatively famous for the shoes he wore. Apparently, not everybody was excited about them, however. Each time he wore them, Michael Jordan paid a fine. They were against the dress code put forth by the NBA. Of course, he was eventually allowed by the NBA to wear his shoes on the court. It's doubtful he got a refund, however, for all those fines paid.

Basketball Caps and More

Whether your favorite team is a basketball team, football, hockey, college team, or what have you, when you want a hat that professes your loyalty, shop for it at Hat Heaven. We have classics that honor the memory of Super Bowl appearances and other championship accomplishments, for those who love to proudly reminisce. We carry caps with cartoon characters or catchy sayings on them for the fun lover in you. Camouflage hats are great for your hunting buddy or for dad, grandpa, etc. (or yourself.)

The whole point here is that, at Hat Heaven, no matter what your choice of baseball cap, we've got you covered!